[CW] TAC, McElroy's other company

Fri Apr 19 21:30:35 EDT 2024

     Assuming its pot metal I have stuff made of it that is very old and 
shows no sign of disintegrating. However, I've seen the effect on other 
stuff, for instance, some old variable air capacitors where the frames 
are crumbling.
     The stream keys were made by both McElroy and TAC, maybe others. I 
had a J-38 version but the box is long gone. This had the extra 
terminals for headphones on it. I still have it.
     I have seem some discussion of TAC on one of the articles or blogs 
on line but don't remember where. I will do a search and see if I can 
find it. McElroy seems to have been a mostly decent fellow but just a 
bit of a con artist. Evidently drank a lot.

On 4/19/2024 5:25 PM, John wrote:
> Thanks for the info Richard.  I had a TAC bug and I agree that it seemed 
> of lesser quality than a typical Vibroplex of the time.  I sold mine 
> (and kept and use my Vibroplexen).
> 
> I have the remains of an old "Stream" key and it suffers from the 
> failing zinc casting. I think one trade name for this material is 
> "Zamac"  ... a generic term is pot metal.  It's possible for it to be 
> long lived but whoever made the stuff for the Stream sure didn't have 
> the recipe.
> 
> John K5MO
> SKCC1957
> 
> On Fri, Apr 19, 2024 at 7:05 PM Richard Knoppow <1oldlens1 at ix.netcom.com 
> <mailto:1oldlens1 at ix.netcom.com>> wrote:
> 
>           Ted McElroy started a second, separate company, evidently with
>     some
>     partners, in Chicago. It was called Telegraph Apparatus Company, or
>     TAC.
>     McElroy made a big deal of its NOT being incorporated. That is somehing
>     of a puzzle to me. I found a good article on the difference between
>     incorporating and not incorporating at:
>     <https://www.legalnature.com/guides/what-are-the-differences-between-incorporated-and-unincorporated-businesses <https://www.legalnature.com/guides/what-are-the-differences-between-incorporated-and-unincorporated-businesses>>
> 
>           I think this is biased toward incorporating since the firm
>     seems to
>     be offering legal services for those who want to incorporate their
>     businesses. It stresses the advantages of incorporating but doesn't say
>     much about what advantages, if any, a non-incorporated company might
>     have. It is nontheless very interesting and seems to me to be a good
>     tutorial on the subject.
>          I am not sure if this is the best forum for this so I will also
>     post
>     to the Morse Code list.
>          I suspect McElroy may have had difficulty keeping control of his
>     company and chose a non-incorporated form because of that and to reduce
>     paper work. I have seem some mentions of who his partners were or might
>     have been but don't remember the details right now. Someone else, with
>     good knowledge of McElroy's history may know much more than I.
>          I have two TAC bugs. They look just fine but the machinging is
>     sloppy. Adjusting is difficult because the screws and stop nuts are
>     wobbly. Can be done but takes some effort. Very different from
>     Vibroplex
>     or any J-36 key. I do not have a McElroy bug so don't have a feel for
>     its quality of construction. TAC also made the "stream key" version of
>     the J-38. Again, I have a couple, at least one of which came in an
>     original box marked McElroy. Again, it is quite sloppily made. I think
>     TAC may have made at least some of the stream keys that have cracked
>     bases. Evidently, these keys were made on cast zinc which was poorly
>     done and warped or otherwise changed size.
>           TAC did not advertise for long and may not have been in business
>     for long. The prices were quite low, less than $10 depding on whether
>     the ke was plated or painted, half to a third of the cost of a
>     Vibroplex
>     key.
>           The only Vibroplex key I have that does not have first class
>     construction is a 1944 Original, evidently made for civilian use,
>     perhaps Coast Guard, but it seems to have a few parts that are reworked
>     but nevertheless work OK. This was during war-time when materials were
>     scarce.
>           If I find anything else out I will post to both lists.
>           BTW, this is not being cross-posted, rather a separate post to
>     each
>     list.
>     -- 
>     Richard Knoppow
>     Los Angeles
>     WB6KBL
>     SKCC 19998
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-- 
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles
WB6KBL
SKCC 19998